Do What You Love

Have you heard the advice from minimalists to only keep what you love?

My desk is a collection of love. I keep things there that make me happy. The two water color prints of cows and hanging clothes on the line speak to me of my childhood. The painting above my desk is of a river valley in the Saskatchewan prairies where my husband is from, and where we lived four years. The blue canvas is done by my daughter who is far away and I see seldom. Behind it is one of my first attempts at acrylic painting. Beside the computer chair is an L of the desk where I paint when I have time. Above it hangs a paper mache head of a wrinkled old man that a friend gave me. It makes me smile. On the window ledge is a blue mason jar full of marbles. Marbles are one of my favorite things. On the opposite wall from my desk is a bookshelf. I love books. My favorite books find a place there. In that bookshelf is a canvas print of my eleven children with my husband and me. That also brings me joy.

It is here in this happy place that I write. Where I keep those things that I love. There is so much to love.